All the action from a night where Town & Gown came together again.

On a night where one of Oxford's cultural sporting events was revived, we were treated to a night of entertaining football at the MGroup Stadium, as the partnership between Oxford City Football Club and the University of Oxford came to life.

If you're reading this and thinking 'what on earth is Town v Gown?' then you can find out about the long history between OCFC and OUAFC, and the cultural significance of Town & Gown HERE.

However, you can forget about history today, as fans joined us at the MGroup Stadium (and many more online) for two matches between Oxford City Football Club and The University of Oxford.

Spoiler. Oxford City won both games. However, the day was a reminder of the power of sport to unite, celebrate, and strengthen bonds within the Oxford community and all in the name of charity.

It wasn’t about the final score(s), it was about rekindling a local, cultural tradition and fostering a sense of togetherness that extends well beyond the pitch.

Match One | Oxford City Women 2-1 Oxford University Women

There was a special occasion as we kicked off the 2025 instalment of Town v Gown with the first ever official Town v Gown Women's match.

It was a tight game as both teams fought for possession in the early stages. City 'keeper Grace Khazir was called into the first save of the match, before the University took a deserved lead. 

Despite her early saves, there was nothing that Khazir could do to stop the opener. Matilda Beloou jinked between the Hoops' defenders and curled a right footed shot into the corner of the net to give the Uni the lead.

The first goal in the revived Town v Gown went to the University.

However, City battled back from behind and after the break, they equalised through a terrific goal through Yasmin Edwards.

The City striker used her pace to beat the backline, dribble past second-half OUAFC substitute Evie Hargreaves, and tap the ball into an empty net.

City found a new gear in the second-half and they started to strut their stuff. The SRWFL (Step 5 of the women's football pyramid) side showed why they're pushing for promotion.

The winner came twenty minutes from time. A corner whipped into the box wasn't dealt with by the University, and after Amber Le Beau's close-range shot pinged around the area, Lucy White was on hand to scramble in the winning goal.

City couldn't add to their lead, but there were positive performances across the pitch. In Oxford City's case Billie Bough-French pulled the strings in the midfield, and for the University Elina Saab-Sunden was equally as effective.

Those were the two players that our sponsors The MGroup selected as their MVP's. They were both presented with their Player of The Match Awards after the match.

Match Two | Oxford City Men 8-0 Oxford University Men

The men's match wasn't as close. However, bare in mind that The Hoops played an extremely strong side with a blend of youth and experience against a rotated University side.

Kauan Bittencourt De Oliviera gave City the lead after nine minutes, and it was closely followed by two goals in two minutes from Rohan Vaughan & Brayden Daniel.

Youngster Josh McConnell got in on the act as well, to make sure that City went into the interval four goals to the good.

However, we won't beat around the bush. OUAFC gave as good as they got. They could've well had a goal of their own too if it wasn't for Laurie Walker's solid save to deny Jovan Williams.

Vaughan went on to complete his hat-trick after the interval, shortly after he was substituted after a man of the match performance.

Again, take the scoreline with a pinch of salt as Manager Ross Jenkins swapped his team around for even fresher legs at half-time and then on the hour mark.

Substitutes Tom Scott & Corie Andrews added to the route. Again though, the University pushed for a goal and Constantin Schuchardt almost a slip from Chi Ezennolim pay as he broke through the backline to force City's second-half 'keeper Kai McKenzie-Lyle into a solid save.

For City it was a good workout for a number of players from the club's Velocity academy, who all put in solid showings on the night. For the first team players, it was more minutes in the bank and there were steps forward for players returning from injury.

It was hard to look past Vaughan as Player of the Match, and the MGroup duly selected him as their MVP. Whereas, Ryan Smalley won the vote for the University.



While the scorelines may have favoured Oxford City, the day was about more than football—it was a reminder of the shared connection between the city and the university, and the power of sport to bring people together.

Bringing the famous Town V Gown fixture back is just one component of the club's partnership with the University. All we can say now is that we're looking forward to the next instalment in 2026.